Kitchen garden that you eat from and carry

For a passionate gardener, nothing is heart wrenching as leaving behind a well-tended garden when moving homes.
Years of tenancy in a garden means deep attachment to plants that one has seen grow from infancy.

It is even harder if you had established a kitchen garden where you have been growing your vegetables.

Having a mobile kitchen garden saves you the emotional strain when changing homes as it ensures that your plants move with you to the new location.

A kitchen garden is a mini farm where one grows food starters and essentials especially herbs, broccoli, onions, microgreens or sprouts that can be based on family diet.

Oliver Ndegwa of Agrotunnel International says there are several design options when settling on a mobile kitchen garden.

“The portable kitchen garden options depend on tastes and preferences. Basically, these are edible mobile wall unit designs made using gutters and zip grows as well as the mini greenhouse option,” he says.

On the wall

The edible wall unit can be made of wood or stainless steel and comprises shelves arranged in a stair-case manner where one can put soil and grow plants.

It can come installed with wheels for easy movement from one spot to another.

It offers zero miles from farm to table where one can grow all salad greens as opposed to making trips to the grocery store every weekend.

There are no limits to where the units can sit within the home as they can be placed outdoors at the yard, indoors or even at the parking lot.

The beauty with the mobile edible units is that they do not compel the gardener to build raised beds or break ground.

Portable greenhouses

The portable greenhouses also allows the gardener to moderate conditions for the plants for better results regardless of the prevailing weather.

Oliver says size depends on the greenhouse options used. For the polytunnel, it should measure four metres by five metres while for the vertical models it should be two metres by one metre.

Pots

Aside from the portable edible units and mini greenhouses, one can nurture a kitchen garden in pots of different sizes and design.

Oliver notes that the benefits of having a kitchen garden, more so a portable one, are tenfold including healthy living, relaxation remedy and a creativity boost.

“The most ideal spot in the compound to establish the garden remains the backyard as it is most secure from pests and is next to the kitchen,” he says.

He cautions against letting pets into the garden as they are transmitters of pathogens.

The source of water used at the garden must also be thought carefully to avoid contamination on the crops. It is also important to check the expiry dates of chemicals used in the garden.

Dig a patch

For optimal yields from the garden, it is important that one considers all growing conditions are catered for including full sun.

The amount of sunlight landing on the garden will depend on the direction it faces. Most vegetables are full sunlight plants meaning they require between six to eight hours of sunlight supply per day.

Sunlight is a vital requirement for plants as it helps in the process of photosynthesis where they convert the sun into food and energy.

When it comes to mobile kitchen gardens, you don’t need to make modifications or digging a patch of the backyard interfering with a landlords’ compound.

To ensure the gardener is kept up to date on tips and agriculture extension services, Oliver says there is a short code messaging option for extension services as well as a mobile application.

“We offer the extension services to ensure the farmer knows what is new and get alerts in case of diseases outbreaks,” he says, adding that the information helps one decide on whether they want to change the kind of crops they grow.

Most importantly, scout your garden weekly and play some music to the plant. It helps keep them happy.

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